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Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) will fly to Paris on Tuesday, January 6, where he will take part in a meeting of leaders of the so-called ‘coalition of the willing,’ that is, countries supporting Ukraine following Russia’s invasion. He said this in a video posted today on his social media accounts. At the same time, he did not comment on the New Year’s address by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Tomio Okamura, in which the leader of the governing SPD movement criticized the provision of weapons to Ukraine as well as Ukraine’s leadership—remarks that sparked a sharp reaction from the opposition, as well as from Ukrainian politicians and diplomats.

Morning snowfall disrupted public transport in Prague on Saturday, with the biggest problems affecting buses, especially in hilly areas in the city’s northern districts. According to the Prague Public Transit Company, some city and suburban bus services were running with long delays, while operations on other routes were temporarily suspended and some stops were not served. Transport officials also warned of major delays or cancellations on lines in parts of Central Bohemia, including Kladno and Mělník. Meteorologists said heavy snow fell early in the morning, with up to three centimetres accumulating within an hour before easing later in the day.

The Czech Republic defeated Switzerland 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the IIHF World Junior Championship in Minneapolis to reach the semifinals for the fifth consecutive time. Coached by Patrik Augusta, the Czechs decided the game with four goals in the second period. Forwards Jiří Klíma and Petr Sikora each recorded a goal and two assists. After Switzerland opened the scoring early, the Czechs responded strongly, turning the game around midway through the contest. Sikora crowned the dominant second period with a goal on his 20th birthday. The Czechs will learn their semifinal opponent after the remaining quarterfinals are played.

Foreign Minister Petr Macinka of the Motorists' party said it was inappropriate for a foreign ambassador to publicly assess statements by a top Czech constitutional official. He was responding to criticism by Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Zvaryč, who condemned comments made by Chamber speaker Tomio Okamura of the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party. Zvaryč called Okamura’s New Year remarks about Ukraine and its leadership undignified and unacceptable. Okamura reiterated his opposition to sending weapons to Ukraine, using inflammatory language about President Volodymyr Zelensky. Opposition parties now want a parliamentary vote on Okamura’s removal.